The chances are that if you’ve received a promotion to a leadership or management role within the organisation you work for, you know that you’re an asset to the company. An upgrade to this status demonstrates that you have proven yourself at your job and can keep other staff members motivated and working towards the company’s expectations.
Despite the initial thrill of receiving a promotion, if you’ve never been in a senior position or are an inexperienced manager, you might feel as though you haven’t been fully prepared for your new role. You may feel as though you could benefit from more training, whether in the form of a data analysis course or soft abilities development, before starting your new role.
Often, management positions are rewarded to staff members who perform consistently well at their jobs but scarcely receive adequate training before becoming a leader. With a shocking 58% of managers attesting to this, we’ve created this article outlining several ways to improve your managerial skills – keep reading to find out more.
Keep Learning
Unfortunately, the necessary skills and abilities to become a successful manager doesn’t just appear overnight; you must learn them. However, learning can be complex when you’re focused on your team. But no matter how challenging, it’s essential to set aside some time for your personal development so that you can be the best manager possible for your team.
One way to continue your education is to attend management courses to keep your existing skills up-to-date and learn new ones. From a data analysis for management online course to a leadership and team skills course, managers can find a range of in-person and online courses to help them keep on top of their game. It’s also worth keeping your finger on the pulse of technology. Yes, it is forever changing, but when it yields useful things like Balanced Scorecard Software for Effective Management, it’s definitely something that has overwhelming benefits for modern businesses and should not be overlooked.
It’s also worthwhile to brush up on your managerial knowledge by reading books – not solely on management topics but also more comprehensive – as you’ll never know what you could discover and apply to your work. For more information, look at management courses or an online data analysis course, either when you have free time at work or from the comfort of your home, which will help you learn new skills and take in further information.
Get To Know Your Team
Whether you’ve been appointed as a new manager at an organisation or have been there for several years before getting the promotion, it’s essential that you take the time to get to know your team. Often organisations are cultivated out of a diverse range of people with different backgrounds, skillsets, goals, strengths, weaknesses, etc.; getting to know them all is the only way to take advantage of their quirks and characteristics.
Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your workforce will enable you to easily delegate tasks to the employees that are best suited for that job, in turn getting better results from your team and department. Taking the time to get to know your team also provides other benefits such as a strengthened relationship between management and employees, increased trust, and a more positive work environment.
Suppose you’re taking over from another manager. In that case, asking them if there’s any information they can divulge about your new colleagues will give you background information on staff and the management style of your predecessor. On the other hand, there are various ways you can get to know your teams, such as team-building exercises, informal meet-ups, conversations by the water cooler, and much more.
Maintain An Open Door Policy
Once you’ve started building up a rapport with your team, you’ll next want to work on creating and maintaining an open-door policy. In short, an open-door approach is where someone in a leadership or management position leaves their door ‘open’ for every employee to encourage transparency and openness.
Ultimately you want the kind of relationship with your team where they feel as though their ideas are listened to, their feedback is heard, and they can gain valuable input from yourself and other colleagues. You can create an open-door policy by paying attention to your colleagues, engaging with them often, giving praise when deserved, and quickly acting on feedback.
Providing that this open-door policy is maintained, you will be able to implement the feedback and ideas of your team members throughout the organization and, in turn, improve the business overall. After all, you want your team to be on the same page if you hope to work towards the same goal.
Hold Regular Team Meetings
Especially if a few members of your team work remotely, it’s essential to hold regular team meetings to ensure that your team is on track and not struggling with their current workload. During these check-ins, team members can ask managers questions, voice concerns, and receive valuable feedback, which will make them more comfortable and eager to work.
